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. 1965 Jul;13(4):618–624. doi: 10.1128/am.13.4.618-624.1965

Amino Acid Isomerization in the Production of l-Phenylalanine from d-Phenylalanine by Bacteria1

Ichiro Chibata 1, Tetsuya Tosa 1, Ryujiro Sano 1
PMCID: PMC1058307  PMID: 14339270

Abstract

To establish an advantageous method for the production of l-amino acids, microbial isomerization of d- and dl-amino acids to l-amino acids was studied. Screening experiments on a number of microorganisms showed that cell suspensions of Pseudomonas fluorescens and P. miyamizu were capable of isomerizing d- and dl-phenylalanines to l-phenylalanine. Various conditions suitable for isomerization by these organisms were investigated. Cells grown in a medium containing d-phenylalanine showed highest isomerization activity, and almost completely converted d- or dl-phenylalanine into l-phenylalanine within 24 to 48 hr of incubation. Enzymatic studies on this isomerizing system suggested that the isomerization of d- or dl-phenylalanine is not catalyzed by a single enzyme, “amino acid isomerase,” but the conversion proceeds by a two step system as follows: d-pheylalanine is oxidized to phenylpyruvic acid by d-amino acid oxidase, and the acid is converted to l-phenylalanine by transamination or reductive amination.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. CHIBATA I., TOSA T., SANO R. A NEW MOULD D-AMINO-ACID OXIDASE. Nature. 1964 Nov 14;204:684–685. doi: 10.1038/204684b0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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